Dark Horizon
by Master Katarn
Summary: Well the next chap is up in my first GS story. Sorry for it being so late. I've been real busy the past few weeks and then when I had finished it our phone line cuts out due to the heavy rain here in NZ, But listen to me rambling on. Hope you like it. R
1. Chapter 1: The Truth Unfolds

**Dark Horizon**

**Chapter One**

**The Truth Unfolds**

Isaac just couldn't sleep. He lay in his bed staring at the roof thinking about the quest a few months ago. There just were some things that didn't add up. Why the Wise One wanted to stop the lighting of the lighthouses? Isaac knew it because corrupted men would use it to rule the world but there was something more to it than that. Isaac decided to take a walk, _The fresh night air might do me some good_, he thought.

Vale had been rebuilt and it looked just the way it had been all those years ago, minus Mt. Aleph.

Isaac sat round the waterfall that flowed through the center of the small village, watching the water sparkle in the moonlight like tiny diamonds. Then a hand touched his shoulder which brought him out of his thoughts.

"Can't sleep, huh?" It was his girlfriend, Jenna. Isaac just shook his head. They sat there for what seem to be hours. Then Jenna put her arm around Isaac. He just sat there quietly

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing." he replied.

"Come on, I know something's bothering you. Now come on, tell me."

Isaac said nothing.

"Ok, then." she said softly, "I'm going to go back to bed. Good night" And with that she kissed him and then started to head back.

"Wait" Isaac called.

"What?"

He motioned her to come and sit beside him again.

"You're so beautiful" he told her.

"You're so sweet" she replied. "Now what did you want to tell me?"

"I just feel there's something more to why the Wise One didn't want us to light the lighthouses. Like there was something more that he wasn't telling us."

"Like what?" she asked, puzzled.

"I don't know but something just doesn't feel right. Like we haven't finished our quest or something."

"Well I'm cold; I think I'll go back to bed. You coming back?"

"Nar, I think I'll stay up a bit more."

"Ok. I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too. Good night"

Then she left and headed back for bed. He knew she'd never be able to help him if he found out what was bothering him. He couldn't bear to lose her again and if she found out there would be no stopping her from fighting with him. He couldn't let that happen. Then all of a sudden Isaac felt something.

"Why do I feel cold? I've felt something like this before, but where?" He just couldn't put his finger on. So he thought that some sleep might do him good and with that thought we went back to bed.

XXX

Alex moved his fingers. Doing that felt incredibly difficult, but he didn't even feel surprised. He paid no attention at the stabbing pain in his chest or that his left leg had bent in an unnatural position.

The only thing that mattered to him was that he was alive.

He was alive!

A muffled laugh escaped through his lips in an obscure gurgle and he barely noticed he was spitting blood on his face. He was alive despite all the pain he felt. He was alive despite that he barely felt his limbs under all the pain.

He sat up and hissed as his ribs objected. He tried to push the feeling in the back of his mind and forced his body to obey. He had made it; mere pain could not stop him anymore.

It was night and the sky was covered in dark clouds. Part of Alex was happy and surprised for that he had not disappeared with the mountain. He almost stayed to watch the sky for a while, but remained in control of himself. There was no time; he had to concentrate on staying alive.

His leg was broken and touching it sent painful waves through his body. He saw bone stick out of his calf and had to turn his eyes away.

The air smelled damp and Alex suspected it had just rained. He didn't feel cold though, in fact he felt uncomfortably hot. He brushed sweaty hair from his face thankful for that at least his hands were fine.

Water.

As if lead by instincts Alex rolled on his side and yelped in the process when his body had everything against it. He had to lie still for a moment and let the pain subside and only then he could concentrate in the small pond next to him.

Rain had created a pond in a small hollow and Alex shoved his face eagerly in the water. It cooled his burning face and he raised it only when he had to breathe again.

Then he drank as fast as he could.

The water tasted of dirt and blood that had washed off his face. Alex didn't mind, living was much more important. He almost choked as he drank and he had to stop to cough and drew a breath.

It didn't hurt.

Alex froze in shock as he felt how his body was healing on its own. He was too surprised to do anything and only after the strange, calming feeling had faded he dared to move.

"Fascinating," he said, examining himself. He had no broken bones anymore and the raging pain was a mere memory.

Alex lifted his eyes in the sky. The water had healed him. Now his thoughts were clearer as well, and he suspected it was because the lighthouses had been lit. The Golden Sun had risen above Mt. Aleph so it was only natural that the nature near the mountain had been affected by it.

He snorted in amuse. If mere rain water could heal a dying person... what would he be able to do with his new powers?

_At least not defeat the Wise One,_ a nasty voice in his mind whispered.

"I merely need practice," Alex muttered. That had to be it. He wasn't used to his new powers yet, but in time he would learn to control them and would fulfill his dream.

Ruling the world...

Alex stood up and looked around. He was near the former Mt. Aleph and the lights he could see far away had to come from the new town of escaped Valeans. The poor souls had no idea what was going on near them.

He would have to find a place to rest and the following day he would start making new plans. But at first he would have to heal himself properly.

XXX

Isaac was woken up the next morning to the sound of chattering. So he got up put his clothes on and went outside see what all the commotion was about.

"Hey, Isaac!" a familiar voice called. He turned to see his best, and childhood friend Garet waving at him round by the sanctum. He started to wander over to see what he wanted. Nearly the whole town was there. The great healers were there, his mother and father, Felix and his family as well.

"What's everyone here for?" Isaac enquired.

"Didn't you hear?" Sab said, one of the local guys in the village. He lived very close to Isaac's house so they knew each other very well.

"Someone swore they saw a blue figure floating away last night"

"What!" Isaac exclaimed in surprise. An image appeared in his mind. "Alex…" Isaac muttered to himself. "So that's who I felt last night"

"What was that"? Sab asked.

"Oh nothing". Isaac knew very well he could only tell the Great Healer about what he knew. Then he remembered what the Wise One had said about Alex.

"_He knows a great deal more than you. He knows that when all four lighthouses are lit the light will gather at Mt. Aleph forming the Golden Sun_."

Then he knew he'd heard the name Golden Sun before, but where? Then it hit him he raced back home.

"Where's Isaac going?" Garet inquired.

"Who knows?" Sab said.

Isaac remembered he'd read about the Golden Sun forming in one of his books in his room.

"There you are." He said finding the book.

He flipped though the pages to find the section on the lighthouses and the Golden Sun.

_Once all the lighthouses have been lit the light will gather at Mt. Aleph_ _thus forming The Golden Sun. He who obtains the power of the Golden Sun will be able to obtain anything his heart desires,_ So read the book. Isaac swallowed a lump in his throat. This is what they hoped to prevent but a single soul had obtained the power of the Golden Sun and would not hesitate to use it to get what he wanted. Dominion over the world.

Isaac slowly walked back to the group around the sanctum.

"What's wrong Isaac?" Jenna asked, worried about him. "You look like you've seen a ghost".

Isaac just handed her the book. She read the page Isaac had open. Horror took a hold of her as she read it.

"What are you going to do?" she said shakily.

"I don't know yet".

"There was no way Alex could have survived Mt. Aleph collapsing"

"There is if he had the power of the Golden Sun"

Later on that day Isaac arranged a private meeting with the Great Healer and told him what he knew.

"So you said you felt this feeling before." the Great Healer inquired.

"Yes, in Sol Sanctum when we went with Kraden and found the Elemental Stars" Isaac stated.

"And you're sure its Alex?"

"Yes. No doubt about it. I could sense he was strong in Sol Sanctum but never strong enough to sense it from the remains of Mt. Aleph".

"Then this confirms our worst fears. Alex has the power of the Golden Sun, but I sense not all hope is lost. This is strange but I sense some of the power of the Golden Sun here in this sanctum. How is that possible? I will have to meditate and try and make some sense out of this. Go get some sleep Isaac; it's grown late and you need rest".

"Yes Great Healer." And with that Isaac left to go home.

"What wrong dear" Isaac's mother, Dora, asked. "You haven't touched your dinner yet."

"Huh?"

"You all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I think I'll just go to bed, I'm not that hungry".

Isaac then got up and left the table and headed upstairs.

Dora looked at her husband. Kyle shook his head. So she didn't push the matter.

"Goodnight" Isaac said as he wandered up to his room.

"Goodnight, dear."

Isaac couldn't sleep that night. He tossed and turned, breathing heavily.

_Alex laughed at him menacing. _

"_You can't stop me" he gloated._

_Isaac watched in horror as he started killing everyone he loved._

_His mother, father, Garet, and Felix were all killed right before his eyes._

"_And now for the main event"_

"_No, please don't do it" he begged Alex._

_But it was too late; Jenna was hit by a blast that went straight through her followed by a bright white light._

Isaac sat up so quickly that he almost hit Jenna who was sitting on his bed.

"What are you doing here" he whispered.

"I just came to see if you were alright. I mean after you found out Alex had the Golden Sun you just haven't been yourself."

"I just don't want you to get hurt"

"Look I'll be fine. You just get some sleep we've got our students to train in the morning."

"Students?" Isaac asked, puzzled.

"Oh, that's right, you weren't at school the day they announced our new studies, were you. Well there are some new children who want to learn more about Psynergy and about being an Adept. So we were chosen, being the strongest in the village, to continue their training." She explained.

"Really? Cool. Well I'll try and get some sleep then."


	2. Chapter 2: Familiar Feelings

**Chapter 2**

**Familiar Feelings **

"Hey wake up sleepyhead" a voice said shaking him. "Wh.. what" Isaac said groggily getting up. 

Garet was standing at the side of his bed.

"What, did you think you were going to sleep all day" "Oh man I must have slept in." "No kidding." 

"Where are we supposed to start training the students?"

"At the Sanctum. Mia and Ivan are already there." 

"Already? Man I'd better get going. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"See you there. Lazy moron gets to sleep in but do I……" Isaac heard Garet mumble as he headed out.

So Isaac put his clothes on and got out from the corner behind his bed, his fathers sword in his sheath. Memories came flooding back about his journey where he met Ivan and Mia to try and stop Saturos and Menardi from lighting the four lighthouses, but it was only after teaming up with Felix, and the team he assembled that they found out they needed to light them to save Weyard. It had been a long and perilous journey but with teamwork and perseverance they came up on top. Soon after they rebuilt Vale, Isaac, Felix Garet and Jenna became its guardians. But now was a time to train new Adepts for the years to come to protect Vale and all of Weyard when evil arose just like the Adepts of the Lost Age before them.

So Isaac put the sword securely on his back and headed down to the table.

"Morning mum got anything quick for breakfast?" Isaac said looking quickly around the table.

"The only thing I've got is apples"

"That'll be fine"

So he grabbed two apples, pocketed one, drank a glass of water and headed out.

He shined the apple once or twice on his shirt before starting to munch on it, thinking what the student he had to train with Jenna would look like. When he reach the Sanctum he saw that all the healers were there and four young looking, about twelve, children. Two were girls the other two were boys.

"Well look who's here". Felix stated. "Took you long enough".

"Sorry I slept in"

"Never mind that now" The Great Healer said coming out of the Sanctum. "Now you all know why you've been called here".

"I don't". Garet stated with a big grin on his face. Garet was always the one for jokes, even at times like this.

"Well pay attention Garet cause I'm only going over this once. You were all brought here to train the future generation of Adepts. You will be training these children in combat, Psynergy, and history. So teach them well and if you need advise don't hesitate to come to me. There is one child of each of the four elements. Now go and meet the students you will be training" the Great Healer finished.

Jenna sat under a shady tree talking with a young pale blonde headed girl. The girl was dressed in a green dress similar to Jenna's.

"So is this who we're teaching is it"? Isaac asked.

"Yep" Jenna replied. " Her name is Nina".

"Nice to meet you Nina my name is Isaac. I'll be one of your teachers, Jenna will be the other as you already know".

Isaac sat down next to Jenna under the tree.

Isaac motioned for Nina to come and sit with them. She was shy at first.

"It's alright we don't bite" Isaac said in a calm voice quite unlike his own.

So Nina decided to sit next to Jenna.

"She just has to get used to you"

"Yeah I know" he said as if lost in thought.

"You didn't sleep well last night after I left did you"?

"No. I keep have these horrible nightmares where I'm fighting Alex and I can't do anything to stop him".

"Who's Alex"? Nina said poking into the conversation.

"We need to talk about this later" Jenna whispered in Isaac's ear.

"Oh no one important" Isaac said satisfying Nina's curiosity.

"Well we better get started with the training." He said getting up from the shady tree.

xxxxxxxx

Alex blinked, waking up from his sleep, just lying there trying to gather his thoughts.

He'd gotten to the nearest inn last night when they were all closed but he'd _persuaded _the innkeeper to let him say. He sighed. He knew he need more than just himself to conquer all of Weyard he need someone by his side. Alex was never one to join forces with anyone but himself. He needed an apprentice, someone who'd follow his orders with out question. Someone like _Mia _he thought.

So that settled it he would try and turn Mia away from her friends, those meddling fools who took away his chance for ultimate power.

When he found out that Mia was helping Isaac and his group something inside torn at him, like something was missing. He decided to take a stroll to clear his head and see what he could do with his new powers. He got up got changed and went out.

It was a gorgeous day outside. The sun was shining the birds were singing. If you stood very quite you could just hear a stream running in the distance. Alex could actually feel the water moving in the stream. _This new power is amazing _he thought to himself, but he had other things on his mind to worry about.

Alex just couldn't stop thinking about Mia for some reason.

_Why do I keep thinking about Mia._ He knew something was wrong.

He realized he'd walked longer than he thought. He could hear the stream was very close. He wandered a bit more and found the stream and decided to have a quick drink and a wash.

He sat by the waters edge looking into the flowing water as if he saw something in it. The water seemed to call out to him as if it was trying to say something or connect with him. He made the symbol of the Mercury clan with water as he did so long ago when he was with Saturos and Menardi, and when he was a child. His mother died soon after he was born and his father had a hard time trying to raise him and having a job. He was send to the Sanctum where he trained to become a healer for the village. He hated it there. He just wanted to go and hang round the base of the lighthouse. He liked it there. It was peaceful and quite. His soul felt at peace. Then some months later the elders of the village decided it was time to let Alex assume his role as guardian of the lighthouse as it had been for generations…..

Then talking caught his ear he decided to remain hidden and see these men were up to.

"So did you hear?" one man said.

"Hear what?" said the other.

"There's a really strange woman wandering around."

"Strange how?"

The man paused for a second. _Probably trying to remember_ Alex thought.

"She had white grayish skin and was wearing a dark purple robe like the guy I've got staying at my inn at the moment, but he's wearing blue."

"Interesting." Alex mused. "This info could be useful."

"But what was even weirder was she had some type of magic or something."

This caught Alex's attention immediately.

"Magic?" said the other.

"Yeah, like some others had ages back. They called it Psynergy or something like that."

"Well I'd be careful around them. Cause you don't want to…….

"This is interesting." Alex whispered to himself. An Idea began to form in his head.

_I'll figure out this later. I need to get to Imil to speak with Mia._ So Alex crept away and started to head for the snow.

_I need to find a way to get Mia away with out others knowing._ _Wait, she goes for her herb searching every morning. I'll get there next morning some time and wait for her._ So on he continued.

xxxxxxx

Mia yawned. Rubbing her eyes as she got up. Every morning she got up early to pick herbs like she always did but this time she had a feeling in her stomach that something was wrong. Like something was bad gonna happen, but she thought nothing of it. So she got changed and fixed her hair in the ponytail like always and headed down to fix herself some breakfast.

After a quick bite to eat she wrapped up warm and out she went into the snow. You need to get out early to pick the herbs crisp and fresh just after the nights snowfall, as it always was in Imil. After a short trek she reached the patch where she usually picked from. But something was wrong, all the herbs were frozen.

"They shouldn't be like this." Mia said puzzled.

"Hello Mia." Said a smooth clod voice that flowed like water.

"Alex!" Mia exclaimed in horror but still with that fiery hatred as on Mercury Lighthouse. "No your….. your dead."

"Ah my dear Mia. Come now. Do you really think that I would die so easily, after all I did to get the power of the Golden Sun!"

"What! You have the power of the Golden Sun? Imp…. Impossible. Isaac has it." Mia exclaimed puzzled and shocked at the same time.

Alex had that smirk on his face that he knew she didn't know anything.

"Mia, you're the only one, who doesn't know. He sighed.

_Poor fool. _"He only has half of it. I have the other."

"Well then what are you doing here?"

"I've come to offer you a chance to join me"

"What!" She was horrified.

"Just think of it Mia. Power, riches, anything your heart desires. I could offer you the world.

"Never. I'll never betray me friends like that. Not for anything in the world."

"Mia, Don't be a fool. When I conquer this puny continent and those surrounding it there'll be next to no one alive. We could start a new world, together."

_How could he even think like this?_ _She thought. _

"After all you put me, Isaac and the others though you just expect me to join you just like that? I'd never just discard my friend like that as you have done so.

That comment upset Alex greatly.

"THEN YOU'LL BE THE FIRST TO DIE BY MY HANDS!" he shouted. Before Mia could react, a jet of water shot from Alex's hand and hit Mia head on. She went sprawling across the landscape and hit a tree which made a loud CRACK noise. Then Alex saw her slumped in front of it not moving. He smiled with glee but something inside of him torn at him harder than before. _What have I done? You are doing what is necessary he told himself._ Then with that he disappeared leaving Mia there not knowing if she was dead or not.

xxxxxx

Back at Vale Isaac was teaching Nina how to handle a rapier, similar to the one Ivan had all those months back. In fact he still carried that round. _Probably cause he didn't have the Shaman's rod that he'd loved dearly _Isaac thought.

"Now if someone comes at you like this what stance to you take?" He was busy explaining the stances of holding a rapier, or any sword for that matter.

"Like this?" Nina asked.

"Good. Now take a swing at me from that stance." So she swung at him. He parried. "Excellent now….

Then Isaac turned his head to see someone running toward them. It was Meagan from Imil, Mia's apprentice. She had tears running down her face.

"Mia… help…. someone…"

"Calm down" Isaac crouched down to her level. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

"Well… I was on my way to help Mia pick herbs like we always did…. Then when I got there she wasn't anywhere to be seen. So… I looked around and there up against a broken down tree was Mia."

"So how come you didn't go back to the sanctum and get somebody to help?" Isaac asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"The houses were…."

"What? What's happened!" he asked worried.

"They were on fire!"

Isaac slung his sword back in its sheath on his back.

"FELIX, GET GARET AND THE OTHER AND HEAD TO IMIL." Isaac shouted to Felix who was round the entrance to the sanctum.

"WHY? WHATS WRONG?"

"IMIL'S BEEN ATTACKED!" Isaac shouted back already sprinting as fast as he could.

xxxxxxx

Alex was wandering back to the inn when a strange feeling came over him. He felt as if Saturos and Menardi were close by. _But that's impossible, isn't it?_ _Felix was there when they fell against Isaac and the others. He'd said he saw them fall in to the aerie. But here I am feeling their presence. But how? Its impossible to come back from death. _He decided not to worry about it at the moment. He was too busy thinking what he had done to Mia. There was this part of him that said it wasn't right to do that but that was over shadowed by the other saying that it needed to be done. He was so confused.

"I don't know what to think anymore." He muttered to himself in a tone very unlike him.

He was usually calm and collective but now he was in a trance like state. He didn't care about anything. He thought he'd sleep on it and deal with it in the morning. He sat on his bed, let out a sigh and buried his head in his hands.

"Hello, Alex." A voice from the shadows said.


End file.
